Mac Miller Being Sued

baethoven

baethoven

Active member
(CN) - Rapper Lord Finesse says in a $10 million lawsuit that 20-year-old rap star Mac Miller ripped off his 1995 hit "Hip 2 Da Game" to launch his music career.

Lord Finesse (born Robert Hall) has been rapping since the late 1980s, and led the popular New York hip-hop crew Diggin in the Crates (D.I.T.C.), in addition to having a solo career and writing for rappers like Biggie Smalls and Dr. Dre.

In 1995, Finesse released his hit song "Hip 2 Da Game," which is the subject of his lawsuit against Mac Miller in federal court in Manhattan.

"This is a case about a teenage rapper- Mac Miller- copying the music from a song written, produced and performed by Lord Finesse, a hip hop legend, changing the title and then distributing it under his own name in order to launch his music career," the complaint states.

Mac Miller released his version of "Hip 2 Da Game" on a "mix tapes," a term used to describe free music distributed by up-and-coming rappers.

The "mix tape" strategy has been favored by many rappers and hip hop producers in recent years. Rappers often record new rhymes over the instrumental tracks of older, popular rap songs and distribute the music for free.

Finesse, whose real name is Robert Hall, sued the website DatPiff.com, which is one of the best known distributors of free mix tapes from new rappers, and Miller's label, Rostrum Records.

Miller's real name is Malcolm McCormick.

"In 2010, Mac Miller recorded himself rapping over Finesse's music and renamed the song 'Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza' ('The Kool Aid Song')," according to the complaint.

Miller signed with Rostrum in July 2010 and released a mix tape called "K.I.D.S.: Kickin' Incredibly Dope Shit," which contained "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza."

The mix tape was released on DatPiff in August 2010, has been downloaded more than 500,000 times and has been streamed more than 450,000 times, the lawsuit states.

The video for "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza," which uses the beat for "Hip 2 Da Game" has been viewed nearly 24 million times on YouTube, according to the complaint.

Finesse says Miller has profited from the unauthorized use of his song.

The lawsuit cites a New York Times article from last November about Miller that explains how the alleged infringement is "part of a strategy to build a fan base."

"'First, the good news: A new generation of rappers is actively trying to build a new business model in which releasing oodles of free material online builds a fan base that paves the way for revenue streams: touring, merchandise, even something as old-fashioned as a record deal,'" the Times article said.

Finesse says he filed the lawsuit after DatPiff, Rostrum and Miller refused to respond to a cease and desist letter earlier this month.

The $10 million lawsuit alleges copyright infringement, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, interference, deceptive trade practices, and a number of related state law claims. Finesse also seeks a permanent injunction from the court.

The rapper is represented by Brian Levenson and Matthew Schwartz of Schwartz & Ponterio in New York.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/07/09/48197.htm

Although I don't really agree with $ 10 million being all that fair for Mac Miller, I think his music sucks. I also hate the whole scene of 'freestyles' over a classic beat (unless it comes out well). It's like covering a song on an instrument and sounding like shit. Don't do it, unless you can. Why the hell you would ever name a song "Kool-aid and Pizza" is beyond me. What an assclown.

Lord Finnesse is a fucking G anyway.

 
Hahaha. thats fuckin ironic! after i heard mac miller's cover, first thing i did was look up who the sample was by, which was how i found out about lord finesse. before that i had no idea who he was...people need to understand that up and coming rappers often rap over old school beats to pay homage to emcees who they respect. like i gaurantee that mac miller is a fan of lord finesse's, and one day decided it would be cool to do his own thing over the beat. fucking stupid law suit if you ask me.
 
That is so whack. Mack Miller blows shit compared to Lord Finesse. All people pay attention today is the beat of the song and Hip 2 Da Game has a dope ass beat. LOL at the song title Kool Aid and Pizza is Mac Miller a fuckin 5 year old?
 
Still though that so manny people noticed him because of that song. even though it was free a lot of those people came back to buy his music.
 
He is still profiting from it. I am all in favor of this lawsuit it's illegal to use music that isn't yours. If i wrote a song or made a beat and someone got famous and rich for it you're god damn right i'd want a well deserved piece of that. Fuck mac miller kid's a shitty rapper anyway.
 
Yeah maybe but it also draws so much attention to lord finesse that he would never have had in the first place! LF isn't doing jack shit now because his career was over years ago. "kool aid and frozen pizza" was good for both of them, and thats why LF shouldnt have filed the lawsuit.
 
This is more a case of a pissed off hip hop legend watching a skinny white talent less teenager bask in the glory of a beat that isn't his. I'm all for it, cause I hate the suburban rapper scene. It fucking sucks. Although this lawsuit is slightly shaky on evidence, they make a fair argument.

Think of the Pretty Lights music business model.

Give everything I make away for freeMake money solely off of merchandise and touring

Gain popularity amongst high school / college demographic

Blow up

Profit

I realize that's not exactly what Mac Miller has done, but it's right along the same lines. Although Mac even sells some of his music, but like I said, their argument holds some ground.

 
Well you did say that the song draws attention to Lord Finesse, but he is not getting recognition for his part in the song.
 
what you said is contradictory. before the lawsuit lord finesse was getting hype from people who heard mac miller going over the beat.
 
Whatever "Hype" he was getting because some shitty white kid was rapping over his beat is no where near as significant as the money he should be making off of this Mac Miller's use of the song.
 
I think that the guy is just washed up and butthurt trying to bring attention to himself. Im not the hugest mac miller fan but lawsuits just bug me, especially over a song that was not sold for money.
 
Yea i agree with you. law suit isnt the way to go though! It looks so bad for lord finesse. The old dude should be thankful for mac miller being the only reason anyone still cares about "hip to da game", and likewise mac miller should be thankful for his success over the OG beat. mutual respect for eachother is what i'm talking about. mac's not my favorite but its clear he's got love for hip hop and you'd think LF would respect that. fuck lawsuits, fuck washed up attention whores, and fuck bullshit lawsuits
 
If you agreed with me, then you would thing the law suit is super justifiable. He should be earning money off of it just like Mac Miller does (i understand the song was posted for free DL but that doesn't make it legal and he still profits off of it).
If you wanna see mutual respect you should see Mac Miller throwing LF money for helping him gain the fame he has.
 
haha no i dont agree with that part of what youre saying. i mean fine, he's gonna go ahead with the lawsuit but it's pretty pathetic. if young white boy was literally profiting from sales of that track then it might be a case, but i mean come on now... spitting over an old instrumental and putting it on a free mixtape is normal, thats the way the rap game works now. and yea i mean that would be cool if mac miller threw LF money but respect is all out the window now...lawsuits
 
This is bullshit. Not a fan of Mac Miller, but I don't like what kind of precedent this sets for the rest of the industry. Think of how many artists these days release remixes of older samples on their mixtapes? You want all of that to stop? Hell, the most ironic thing is that guys like Finesse were pissing and shitting and getting sand all up in their gines when Markie was getting sued over Alone Again back in 91. Now that their careers are slowing and people are sampling their shit, suddenly they want a piece of the pie? Please. I thought hip hop was supposed to be all about free expression.

Disappointed in you LF to say the least.
 
So I am no law expert, but I am pretty sure this lawsuit could pretty much fuck over any mixtape as they are almost always old beats. Like I don't know how you guys can even be for this... Sure you may not be a Mac Miller fan but you guys do realize how almost every single artist that releases mixtapes does this? Like okay you don't like Mac Miller, but if your favorite artist decides to release a mixtape without authentic beats well he could be getting sued next.
 
well that is copy right if you do not get permission from the owner of the beat. Thats like saying its ok for movie producer to use music for free in their film with out giving them credit.
 
This, so many songs now sample beats from older songs. And for the copywrite thing, I would imagine it is not easy for an up and coming artist to contact the producers of songs and ask for the rights I would think. This whole lawsuit is just about the dumbest thing I have heard.
 
Same. His inspirations starting out were from old schoolers, like Biggie, Tupac, and, to him the most, Tribe. Mac respects Heavy D in one of his songs, showing his respect for the old school... I agree with what is said above... coming from a HUGE Mac fan.
 
Yes. They can make their own beats. Lord Finesse did. Tribe Called Quest (Q Tip) did. Even Deltron 3030, who NS seems way into, did. Thats where the talent comes in (other than rapping of course) and thats why a lot of today's rappers are less talented then those in the "past". Stop "sampling" and make something of your own.
 
And yes, I know that older rappers sample music as well. A lot of them use snippets from jazz and soul music when making their beats. But the difference is, they are still MAKING A BEAT, where someone like Mac Miller simply takes an already made beat, then raps over it.
 
well its like against the law man. I am sure that Lord Finesse would have let him use it if he explained he was giving the music away for free and at the same time gave the proper credit for the beat be fore hand. its not to hard to copy right shit even I have done it before.
 
you dont hate mac miller. you envy him.

>hes about your age

>hes rich as fuck

>he has millions of fans

>he fucks bitches, and gets money

>he makes music.

>he is better than you.
 
No, it's more like releasing a ski edit on NS using someone's song without getting credit from them and then having them sue u like 4 years later because that edit is what allowed you to get into the ski industry.

 
Not even similar. Plus that is still copy right infringement. If they wanted to do something they very well could. The only reason they don't do shit about it is because you aren't making much money from it. Have you ever posted something on youtube then got a message saying your movie infringes on the rights of the artists music. It happens to me every time but they don't take it down because do I make any money from it? no. Mac Miller Makes money from this shit because it get him noticed. If you are an artist you make money from being noticed even if your music is free.
 
hahaha that guy is the president of douchebags.

I would be pissed if I was an accomplished seasoned rapper and some white punk with his mom's credit card used my beat to rap about going to frat parties and white kid stuff.

-GORILLA, OUT.
 
No it is very similar. If a movie producer uses a beat for a Hollywood movie and they make millions of it without giving credit when it was due, then i agree that it is grounds for being sued. Yes, thank you I understand why he is getting sued, and I am well aware that it is still copy right infringement. All I am saying is I enjoy my mixtapes from Datpiff a lot, and this lawsuit could create a shitstorm for that entire sector of music.

 
Let me reiterate. ARTISTS MAKE MONEY FROM BEING NOTICED. Miller gave himself all the credit in making that song. I don't understand why these guys don't just spend a little extra time and to get the rights to use the music. I have friends trying to make careers in music and when ever they use a sample or anything another artist has made they get the rights to use it from the owner because if you don't it can come back and bite you in the ass.
 
I won't be surprised if this case goes one way or another. There is so much grey area in the music industry's legal parts it's not even funny. My brother works in the music industry.. I'll have to ask him what he thinks of this.
 
I understand that publicity is just as useful/profitable as raw sales from records, so yes thank you if it wasn't then he wouldn't even be able to sue now would he? What I am saying if artists need to get permission from every single owner when they make a mixtape, well they are going to go down drastically. I don't really know much about the music industry, but I can imagine it would be very hard to get permission for the majority of artists out there to use their beats for your music.

I mean I am aware that I am arguing on the wrong side here, that you are right it is illegal what Mac Miller did. I am just saying I think it is bs that it is illegal for free things like mixtapes, and that this lawsuit puts every single artist who has made a mixtape using someone else's beat at risk.
 
All I know is if you use some one else's work in the music industry with out their consent it is sketchy business, and it can definitely back fire. I had to get music rights for a movie my friend and I made in a video class and It wasn't that hard we just sent some emails to the producer and everything worked out with in a fairly quick time period. I think it would be fairly easy to get rights for mix tapes if you are selling them for free and give the artist who made the beat credit.
 
Don't people make money off of having super popular youtube videos? Certainly not millions, but you do make something.

I quoted you for your statement, not to attack you personally,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top